


Thank You For Being A Friend

by Mandergee



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Coulson is a sweetheart as he always is, F/M, Spoilers for Agents of Shield 4x18, cute Coulson, friends - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-19
Updated: 2017-04-19
Packaged: 2018-10-20 20:33:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10670253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mandergee/pseuds/Mandergee
Summary: Spoilers for 4x18, so don't read it yet if you haven't seen it, and you've been warned.When she needs him, he's always there. Framework or no, Coulson is the same man he's always been, and Melinda May gets to experience that yet again.





	Thank You For Being A Friend

**Author's Note:**

> I did not beta, but I really just needed this to be out there. I need Philinda. Take it. Love it. Accept it.

“It won't be like this forever, you know.” The sound of his voice surprised her, and Melinda dropped the fork she'd been twirling idly in a bowl of noodles, eyes focused on the dingy brown of them rather than the angry stares coming from those within the tiny cafeteria. She'd lost _people_ for them, tortured those they cared about, let the man who led their forces collapse under an entire _building_. The latter, of course, she knew she could never have prevented, but it didn't matter to those she now colluded with. _You can take the girl out of Hydra, but to them the Hydra is still in the girl._

“Are you a clairvoyant?”

“No.” The man who sat across from her chuckled, set his own tray down and glanced into her bowl. “You usually love pad thai.”

“I usually-” Her eyes lifted and she considered the blue eyes staring intently back at her, lips pressing together before falling into a frown. “Who are you?”

“Phil. Coulson.” He didn't offer his hand, instead reaching for the salt and sprinkling it liberally over what appeared to be...mashed potatoes. “You did good back there, letting us get away. They're going to realize you helped, before long.”

“Yeah, well- I'm Hydra. It's not an easy thing to forgive, given all that I've done..” It still felt impossible sometimes, fighting the urge to hunt down a radio and call it in, to report _so many inhumans_ in one place. But she'd seen the good, felt the trust pass between herself and the Patriot before the world fell down around them and she'd managed to just escape with her own life.

“You _were_ Hydra. Now you're one of us. And _I_ trust you.” The familiarity was there again, woken up with the words _'Snap out of it, May!'_ and nudged slightly with the feeling of his hand over hers, reassuring. “You won't shoot us in the head.”

“I hear that's you, now.”

“What?”

“Head of the resistance.” The noodles were cold, and Melinda let her fork fall back into the bowl, no longer interested in food. She wanted a _drink_ , something good and stiff to warm her stomach and help her regrets fade into the background for a while.

"Yeah, well- I don't think they know what they're doing, asking me to take the place of the Patriot."

"I think they're right."  


"Do you?" He poked at the lump of potatoes, grinned as the tines of his fork barely broke the skin. "I could use a drink after the meeting I had with Ward. I still can't believe he thinks I'm the best replacement."

“After today, I think we could _all_ use a drink. I don't suppose you _do_ have anything stiff around here.”

“They let me bring a few things from my apartment before Hydra hit it. There's a bottle of Haig I've been meaning to open, if you're interested.”

“You'd break something like that open for me?”

“Something tells me we're going to be doing a lot of that in the future.”Coulson hadn't touched his own plate, either, and reached to take her dishes and put them a nearby bin. But she didn't move, staring again at the room full of dark stares and stone faces until he reached for her hand again and pulled her to her feet. “Melinda.”  
“Hmm?” And there it was again, but with a fluttering in her stomach to accompany the odd deja vu at the sound of her name.

“Come on. Let's go. The Haig awaits.”

“Thank you.” She didn't look back, just sideways as he led her out of the room and into the empty corridor, smiling at the way his forehead creased in confusion.

“What for?”

“For being a friend.” It had been so long since she'd had one...since Andrew...that Melinda realized she'd almost forgotten what it was like, And for a man who barely knew her to seek her out when she needed one the most was worth more than she realized. “You're a good man, Phil Coulson.”

“You haven't seen me drink Haig yet.” He chuckled, and she found herself laughing with him. “My room's down the hall- we'll have to use paper cups, but it won't diminish the experience.”

“I'll have to trust you on that.”

 


End file.
